Baseball is America's favorite sporting event and also has wide popularity in other areas of the world including Japan, Taiwan and South America. Numerous organizations exist in the U.S., and around the world, which function to introduce the sport to children, and extensive efforts are employed on a world-wide basis in teaching young children the skills necessary to play the game of baseball.
One of the most important skills required is the ability to hit the baseball, which often necessitates extensive practice, particularly for young players Just learning the sport.
A device often used for teaching young players the skill of hitting the baseball is the "Tee-Ball" approach, in which a baseball is placed on top of a support structure situated directly in front of the batting position. The player then swings the bat at the baseball (a stationary target) and thereby begins to develop the batting skills necessary for success in playing baseball. For a very young player just learning the game, the Tee-Ball approach has merit.
However, the drawback with the Tee-Ball approach is that the baseball is stationary and therefore does not give the player practice swinging at a moving object. Hitting a moving object is critical for success in the game of baseball, and the Tee-Ball approach does not provide the necessary practice skills to achieve this result. A current alternative, of course, is for a pitcher to pitch to the player but this technique often is unsatisfactory, as it depends on the skill and patience of the pitcher. More importantly, each pitch does not present a uniform flight path for the baseball and, therefore, the player, particularly the young player, still has difficulty hitting the ball due to the variation in the flight path for each pitch.
A second alternative is the use of mechanical pitching devices, but these devices are extremely expensive, difficult to use, and can be dangerous for young players due to the speed of the ball being pitched.
It is, therefore an object of the instant invention to provide a batting practice device that is inexpensive, that provides a uniform flight path for the baseball when the baseball is released for batting practice, and is easy to use.
Various prior art patents exist which attempt to provide a batting practice device in which a ball is tethered or suspended in various ways to simulate a pitching environment. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,301,556 granted to R. M. Hamilton, Jr., et al on Jan. 31, 1967. The batting practice device described in this patent consists of an overhanging cone-like structure with means to hold a tethered ball in position to be struck by a bat. The ball holding device releasably holds the ball so that the batter may practice swings for striking a ball, whether at rest or moving in a flight path to a designated position. The ball holding structure is adjustable as to height and front-to-back arrangement as well as adjustable to bring the ball down to a desired elevation above the batting position.
A second such device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,235 granted to John W. Yerkio, Jr. on Feb. 13, 1973. This device consists of an elongated support structure including a pair of parallel, co-planer support arms between which is connected a cross arm. A tether is suspended from the cross arm and the baseball is releasably connected to the tether to permit the batter to strike the baseball.
Similar devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,397,885, 3,454,275, 3,529,823, 3,893,699, 4,830,372, 4,898,385, 5,048,828 and 5,098,094.
The problem with all of the foregoing batting practice devices is that the tethered ball does not return in a uniform flight path to the batter when the ball is raised in elevation and released for the batter. This result stems from the fact that the ball is generally suspended from a single tether so that when the ball is released to the batter, the flight path will vary, thereby making it much more difficult for the batter to effectively hit the baseball.
It is therefore a further object of the instant invention to provide a batting practice device that produces a uniform flight path for the baseball when released for a swing by the batter.
It is a still further object of the instant invention to provide a batting practice device which accurately simulates a pitching environment by suspending the ball in such a way that it will accurately return to the batter upon each occasion of presenting the ball to the batter for batting practice.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the instant invention, a batting practice device is provided which includes a base element, an upstanding vertical element releasably affixed to the base element and a horizontal element releasably affixed to a top portion of the vertical element.
It is a feature of the invention that the horizontal element has two horizontal extending arms in a "Y" shaped arrangement from which is suspended a tether having first and second upper portions connected to each of said horizontal extending arms and a lower portion from which a baseball is releasably attached.
It is a further feature of the invention that the baseball can either be struck from a stationary position or can be elevated and released by a batting assistant so that the "Y" shaped horizontal extending arms and tether will ensure a uniform flight path upon return of the baseball to the batter.
It is a further feature of the invention that both the upstanding vertical element and the horizontal extending arms are adjustable in height and length, respectively.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following specification and referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a material part of this invention.